Schenectady Man In Custody Following Shooting

An hours-long manhunt led Schenectady police to a city man accused of shooting a woman and her two children during a domestic dispute at a Union Street home Tuesday afternoon. The suspected gunman, 47-year-old DeShawn Howard, fled on foot after gunfire erupted around 1 p.m. Near the intersection with Brandywine Avenue, police found two children, a 7-year-old boy and a 16-year-old girl, wounded. Their 35-year-old mother was found outside the home.

Early one morning in May 2016, as a Schenectady woman tells it, she was driving around looking for recyclables in trash bins, when a pickup truck began tailing her. It turned out that the driver was none other than Mayor Gary McCarthy, who uttered words that frightened Sarah Dingley before following her. Dingley recognized the mayor, thought she smelled alcohol, and dialed 9-1-1. Now, a special prosecutor says McCarthy and the police made mistakes in handling the incident, but no criminal charges have been brought.